


Ai Na [Love You]

by Gildedmuse



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff, One Shot, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 10:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18798445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gildedmuse/pseuds/Gildedmuse
Summary: Zoe doesn't want to give in, you understand, it's just that Wash can be so damn determined.





	Ai Na [Love You]

**Author's Note:**

> [Posted in 2008]

**Ai Ni**

**(Love You)**

 

“Oh, come on.”

 

“Sorry, not interested.” Zoe sips at her coffee, standing at the doorway of the kitchen and watching Wash beg, wearing her usual blank expression. Could just leave, ignore Wash’s pleadin’ with her and walk off. Ain’t too many men brave or stupid enough to follow Zoe ‘round once she’s made herself clear. Being career military, she’s plenty use to scaring men off, men a whole lot tougher than Wash could manage. But she keeps standin’ around and listenin’, and Wash keeps on askin’.

 

“You keep saying that,” Wash reasons, arms sort of flailing ‘round like he’s lookin’ for some words to woo her. Zoe ain’t too use to being wooed, but she’s sure it ain’t nothing so adorable and funny with most folks. Least Wash seems to put his heart into it, even if he ain’t getting a thing from all his show. Gotta admire that, maybe that’s why Zoe is still standin’ around. “I think you just failed to recognize the sexy, interesting side of me. I did mention sexy, right?”

 

Zoe snorts into her coffee, little more smile than she’s used to when Wash grins at her, all hopeful over one little snort. Strange man, and workin’ with the types Mal finds them, Zoe is plenty use to strange. Ain’t too many like Wash, though. “Believe you did,” she agrees with a curt nod, not about to give in to all his flirtin’ about with her. “Still saying no.”

 

Seems to take this into consideration, tappin’ his fingers against the table for a pause before speakin’ up again. “You ever consider saying yes when I ask you out?”

 

Gets another snort, little less laugh like this time. “No,” she answers simply, knowing good and well Wash won’t leave it at that. He’s been asking her out since he got on this ship, or seems so to Zoe. Mal pointed out he’s got plenty of determination and will, even if it ain’t exactly getting’ him anywhere. Zoe don’t know if that’s a good thing, but somethin’ keeps her listenin’ to the pilot long after she would have shot at another man.

 

Well, she did have to shoot at him that one time, but hadn’t been aiming to hit him. Afterwards, Wash had told her she is sexy holdin’ a gun at his head. Scary, he admitted, but sexy as hell. Sure is a strange man trying to catch her heart.

 

“Alright,” Wash says, pointing at Zoe like he has some kind of crazy idea goin‘ round that head of his, no doubt about that. “Name one reason-”

 

“The mustache.” Getting Wash all silence is a pretty big thing, but Zoe manages to make him quiet up, thinkin’.

 

Course once he‘s done just starin‘ at her like she‘s crazy, he goes to stroke that lip hair of his. “Wo de zi?” Sounds so hurt, think Zoe’d insulted something a lot lower than his mouth. “Everyone at the academy had one of these… That or these really strange tattoos they did on the back right around… I like the mustache,” Wash points out, tugging at the light hair some as Zoe just stares at him, smiling’ a bit more than she’s willin’ to admit.

 

“Can’t stand a man with a fuzzy lip,” Zoe answers, shaking her head at all Wash’s whinin’. Almost feels wrong, talkin’ to him like this. She don’t have any doubt she won’t be givin’ into Wash. Ship ain’t any place to be romantical. Sure, he manage to win over some of her trust, captain’d been right about him being a fine pilot. Being a good crewmate and datin’ a man were plenty different, Zoe ain’t about to go crossing those lines. “Says you’re trying to hide something, you ask me.”

 

“Hiding something? I can‘t even keep a secret,” Wash promises, hands waving about some to make his point. “In fact, in school I was voted least likely to hide something, especially from a sexy, sexy woman with a gun.”

 

Alright, she should know better, but Zoe cracks another smile. He’s just strange, that’s all. Don’t know many people that would talk to her like that, not if they didn’t want to end up without a bullet through some private parts. But Wash says it and looks so gorram honest, she just grins at him. Ain’t had a boy so interested in her since she was in boot camp, and that is when Zoe got it in her head that datin’ on a job is never worth the trouble. Military or cargo ship, still ain’t going to change her mind no matter how often Wash might try and get her laughing.

 

*

 

Next day, just another day in space. Could work at a person’s nerves if they let it get into them, but Zoe’s had plenty worse than a week between plantside landings. She gets up plenty before the captain, goes back to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast. Way she remembers it, last night at dinner they didn’t have candles set all around the room. That is definitely new.

 

“Un beau matin pour une belle femme.” Zoe raises an eyebrow, looking over to catch Wash leaning against the counter, what she guess is supposed to be a seductive looking smile.

 

She ain’t sure how to react to the candles and the man standing there, face entirely fresh shaven. She ends up just sort of smiling. “What is that?”

 

“I’m not entirely sure I said that right,” Wash admits, pushing himself off the counter and walkin’ over to Zoe. “I looked it up on the cortex and, well, when the learn a new language tape said it, it sure sounded all romantic like.”

 

Zoe can’t help herself, she laughs just a touch. Ain’t stupid enough to get herself involved, but apparently just dull enough to stand around in a candle lit dining room, letting some goofy man tickle her humor. “That so?” She asks, shakin’ her head, can’t believe what he would pull. “Cortex tell you to do all this?”

 

“It’s all part of my charm,” Wash says, grabbing a bowl from the table, holding it out to Zoe. “Even made you some fancy breakfast, just to prove how manly I am and all.”

 

Still grinning, Zoe takes the chopsticks from the bowl, taking a small bite and chewin’ it up some. “This is dinner. Reheated.”

 

“Well… Technically.” Wash shrugs, letting Zoe take the bowl. She knows well enough there ain’t much to eat on this boat, at least this is hot, if nothing else. “I did help make dinner last night! Opened the cans and everything.”

 

“Very impressive.” Zoe ambles right by him, flipping on the lights as she sits herself down, chewing up more of the protein. Quick as he can, Wash scrambles to follow along after her, taking his own seat.

 

“Notice anything else about this fine, romantic breakfast?” He asks, holdin’ his chin up proudly, waiting on Zoe’s approval.

 

She nods, she’d noticed almost the second she set eyes on him. Looks plenty different without that fuzz all over his lips, at least to Zoe. “You finally shaved.”

 

“What do you think?” Wash asks with his bright smile Zoe don’t find so annoying after all. Thought it would keep bugging her as much as it had first time they meant, when he made that little nervous joke as she felt him down for any hidden weapons. “Raise my chances for a kiss or two?”

 

Maybe it is just the war still hanging over them, but Zoe don’t remember smiling so much as Wash brings it out in her. “Candle lit breakfast, hot food, no ugly lip hair to stare at. I’d say you were trying to seduce me.”

 

“Oh, think away.” Wash pulls a bottle from the other side of the table. Water, from the looks of it, just stuffed in some fancible looking bottle. “I even brought something that almost looks like wine. It won‘t actually get you drunk, but it does look fancy, huh?”

 

“It’s a mighty fine bottle,” Zoe agrees, giving Wash a nod. Maybe she shouldn’t feed all this mess, surely the captain wouldn’t be about to agree with any of this. More she lets Wash talk, less she cares so much what Mal’s little rules on shipboard romances might be. He’s done plenty that made Zoe get his ass out of trouble before, seems to her this is just another one of his rules don’t help anyone.

 

“I also have entertainment,” Wash offers, pulling one of the candles across the table. “I do great shadow puppets, you know. Can recreate entire stories with just these two hands.” Zoe laughs again, watching Wash with a sort of smile as she keeps eating. Interesting to let him ramble on, even if he don’t seem to know what to talk about. Kind of endearing trait, she would guess, if one could stand it so long.

 

“So, we’re alone in the pale, horribly yellow light of the ship with reheated protein and a cheap bottle with no real alcohol,” Wash points out, giving Zoe a look she would guess is suppose to be more fun than suggestive. Sure don’t seem the type that could pull of a proper romantic evenin’ like you’re always hearing about. Don’t think she’d be much interested in that sort of thing, anyway.

 

But with Wash grinning and trying so hard to get her smiling’, more she thinks on it more that is exactly the kind of thing she likes. “You going to keep this going until I give in?”

 

“Why? Is it working? Because I’ll have you know I have broken down plenty of girls to force then to go out with me, I’m well practiced,” Wash says, and Zoe can’t actually tell if he’s joking or not, but she’s thinking he is just playing with her. Trying to get her smiling more.

 

“Powerful need you have there,” Zoe answers, finishing off the protein and going to drop the bowl in the cleaner. “Could get use to breakfast being all set out, though the candlelight is a little much.”

 

She’s crossing to the door when it seems to sink in with Wash what she’s saying. “Is that a yes?” He asks, perking up, looking at Zoe with these big, happy eyes. Much cuter than when he had that mustache, she decides, and not so annoying as she figured. “I mean… Was that really a yes?”

 

“Figure if it don’t work out, I can just shoot you,” Zoe reasons, pausing to smile back at him. Who knows how he even managed it, Zoe guesses it has something to do with all the smiling she’d been put up to these last weeks, but that is a yes.

 

“I am the luckiest man ever been threatened with a bullet,” Wash cheers, and Zoe ain’t regretting saying yes at all.


End file.
